Something flew over the west coast in late October, that much we know. But the mystery plane disappeared before anyone could figure out what it was and has defied all attempts at identification since. Was it a classified U.S. government aircraft, a flying saucer, or something else?
The War Zone reports that in the afternoon of October 25, air traffic controllers started querying commercial airline pilots flying between Portland and Seattle, asking if they could help identify a mystery object. The object in question didn’t have a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) transponder turned on, was not responding to radio communication, and, most intriguingly, could not be picked up on radar.Numerous pilots reported they saw the aircraft, but none came close enough to identify it. Ultimately, Oregon Air National Guard F-15 fighters from Portland International Airport were sent up to investigate, but saw nothing. The War Zone article also cites two Reddit users familiar with the incident and who seem to corroborate much of what the air traffic controller audio has to say.
The aircraft was near Crater Lake, Oregon when air traffic controllers started asking nearby pilots about it. The aircraft was described as a white object flying north between 35,000 and 40,000 feet. At one point in the air traffic controller audio clip, one pilot says the mystery bird is 12 to 15 miles away, and distances from other aircraft ranged from four to 20 miles. Another pilot, observing the aircraft, estimates an airspeed of 370 knots, or 425 miles an hour on the ground, also noting he is not getting a TCAS transponder signal